History Series: I Have A Dream
History of I Have A Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr.
61 Years Ago Today
Today, 61 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. It continues to echo down the halls of history almost six decades later.
On August 28, 1963, the occasion for his speech was the March on Washington at the height of the Civil Rights movement. Over a quarter of a million supporters gathered at the Mall in Washington, D.C., where King delivered his public speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking over the Reflecting Pool.
President John F. Kennedy had proposed new civil rights registration in June earlier that year, and this march was to demonstrate support for its passage. It was remarkable because it was one of the first such demonstrations of that size to receive extensive television coverage.
A century earlier, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 had declared millions of slaves free, but the declaration did not affect that freedom. The country was in the midst of a Civil War.
Did Martin Luther King Jr. intend to share his dream at the Civil Rights March? Was he the only scheduled speaker?
